Thicker Than Water
by kingdinkelmen
Summary: It's summer and the Curtis family, including and older brother and a younger sister, have even more drama than before. Sequel to LIFE IS FUNNY THAT WAY
1. New Neighbors

_Disclaimer- I do NOT own The Outsiders_

**PONYGIRL CURTIS-**

I woke up late. My eyes fluttered open and I smelled all the sweet smells of summer, cut grass, barbecue grills sending their smoke down the street, filling the air with their heavy, burning scent. I stretched and crawled out of bed. I met my twin in the kitchen. He sat across from Soda, shoveling cake into his mouth. I poured myself a glass of orange juice and sat at the table with them. Darry and Buddy were both at work and Steve had a shift at the DX until four. I was stuck with both of them all day unless I decided to hike down the street to Two-Bit's. I decided against it. I wanted to watch t.v. and stay in with Pony and Soda.

I sat on the floor in front of the t.v. flipping through the little channels there were. I settled on some old movie and sat up against the couch with my juice in my hand. I loved summer. Especially now that I had a boyfriend and I was old enough to go places instead of stay home all day until someone can take where I have to go. Soda sat next to me on the floor and gave me his usual cheeky smile. I leaned back and rested my head on the couch. Soda playfully punched me on the arm.

"What?" I asked.

"Are we gonna do anything fun today? Or just watch t.v.?" he asked.

"I'm watching t.v." I said. It was clear that Sodapop wasn't going to take no for an answer, and after almost half an hour of begging, tickling, and wrestling, we all walked down the street towards the D.X. to see if Steve could get of early. We stopped in front of one of the old boarded houses on our street. A red truck was parked in the front. We saw boxes and furniture in the back and a man out front was working on getting the board off of the front window. He was tall, and lean, with muscles almost as big as Darry's. His hair was a curly, dirty blonde that he kept long. The sleeves on his shirt were rolled up and I saw how tight they were on his large arms. His jeans were covered in holes, rips, and oil stains. He turned when I guess he sensed that he was being watched.

"Can I help you?" he asked in a hard, deep voice.

"We live just down the road." Soda spoke up and jerked a thumb towards our house. The man spit into the grass.

"Then why don't you go on back there and get outta my yard 'fore I have the cops out here." He said.

"I'm sorry mister, I-." Soda started.

"Didn't you hear me?" he interrupted. "Get outta here!" he screamed, shaking a fist at us. Sodapop took hold of both our shoulders and pushed us down the street. I looked back at the man. He was yelling at his wife now, something about money. I shuttered. I had heard so many of Johnny's parents' fights before.

We met Steve outside as he was pumping gas for a girl with brown hair in a convertible.

"Hey." He said, giving Soda a high five and kissing me on the cheek. I smiled. Soda told him about the neighbors. He raised his eyebrows.

"Just what we need, More neighbors like the Cades." He said. The Cades had moved away a few months after Johnny and Dally died, to our excitement, we had never seen them again. Unfortunately, Steve, couldn't leave early, but promised to come by the house on his way home. We kept walking and decided to go to the Dingo for some cokes before Going back home to wait for Darry and Buddy to get home from work.

We sat in a booth in the back. I rolled my eyes as the waitress popped her gum in her mouth and flirted with Sodapop. I looked at Ponyboy, who had the same look on his face as I did. We stifled our giggles until she left and Soda punched both of us in the arm. I knew he didn't mean it though. He liked Amanda. She was all he ever talked about, like Sandy. We talked to the other greasers that were there that day. We stayed nearly an hour after we got our cokes, talking to Tim Shepard and some other guys that lived a couple neighborhoods over.

When we left, we could see dark clouds rolling in from the west.

"Looks like rain." Ponyboy surveyed, looking towards the clouds. Not five minutes after that, it started to pour and we took off towards our house. We made it record time. We climbed the steps and walked in the front door to find Two-Bit in the kitchen with his head in the fridge. Sodapop snuck up behind him and put him in a headlock. They knocked a few chairs over while Soda wrestled Two-Bit to the floor. Me and Ponyboy laughed as Two-Bit struggled to his feet.

"What was that for?" he asked, pretending to be hurt. Sodapop smiled his signature smile.

"I was protecting my little brother and sister. I didn't know if you were a burglar or not. I guess I'm just a better brother than you." He answered predominantly.

"Hey, I would protect Debbie if there were burglars in our house!" he said.

"You couldn't even see them through all the mess in your house. You can't even find the food or beer in your kitchen. That's why you're always bummin' around here." Sodapop said.

"Well, maybe I come here to enjoy the company of my _friends_." He said. And I walked to my room to change out of my wet clothes.

I combed my hair and changed into my blue dress with white buttons. When I came back out Darry was home. I sat on the couch and listened to Soda and Two-Bit, who were still arguing in the kitchen.

"Come on, now both of you quiet down!" Darry yelled at the both of them from the living room, loud enough to make both of them silent. I went into the kitchen. It was my turn to cook dinner. I took out the pots and pans I needed and got started on spaghetti. Buddy came in right as the water for the noodles was starting to boil.

"Hey baby." He said as he put his brief case down on the table. That was one thing I thought was strange about Buddy's job, he carried a briefcase, even though most of the time he wore a button down flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up and jeans to work.

"Hey." I said, as I stirred the noodles into the water. He looked over my shoulder at the pot.

"Looks good." He said and kissed my hair before going off to find my brothers.

That night we all ate dinner together at the table and listened while Darry and Buddy talked about work. Darry grumbled about the rain and how it was almost half a day wasted.

"Come on Darry, we make enough, Relax." Buddy said and put a hand on his shoulder. "So, today, Nancy, one of the journalists at work really liked my political cartoon."

"A political cartoon," Sodapop butted in. "The funny pages are better than them. At least you can understand em' anyway." He laughed.

"They're for adults I'll give you that Sodapop." Buddy said.

"I'm an adult!" he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You're right. All of my adult friends dye their mashed potatoes blue." Buddy said with a smile. Sodapop rolled his eyes and went back to eating.

"We have new neighbors." I said, breaking the silence.

"Oh yeah," Darry asked "Who?"

"We don't know their names. They remind me of the Cades." I said. Darry grimaced.

"They've been out of the neighborhood for a while now, they have any kids?"

"We don't know, when he ran us off earlier today, we just saw him yelling at his wife." Soda said.

"Well, all three of you stay away from them then." Buddy said. "The last thing we need is for the neighbor to call the cops on any of you."

"Ah, come on Buddy, nobody calls the cops I this neighborhood." Soda said.

"Fine, the last thing we need is for any of you to get into a fight with the neighbors." He corrected. I smiled at the thought of Sodapop trying to fight the man down the street. None of my brothers had ever lost a fight. Well, the fair ones anyway. Ponyboy and Sodapop cleared the dishes from the table and started to wash them while I sat on the porch swing waiting for Steve. He finally came up the street and met me on the porch. He looked up at the sky, speckled with stars.

"Sure is a good night. Wanna go for a walk?" he asked.

"Sure. Let me tell Buddy first though." I said. I came in through the front door and looked for Buddy. He was in the kitchen at the table.

"I'm going for a walk with Steve. We won't be gone long." I said.

"All right, be back soon, and don't do anything me and your brother wouldn't agree on or it'll be your ass." He said from his chair.

"Uh huh." I said, already out the door.

We started down the street and walked towards the park.

"How's summer?" Steve asked. I thought for a moment about the first day we had been out.

"Boring" I concluded. "How was work?"

"Boring" he said. "Til' I got off." He smiled. We walked in silence for a few blocks until we came to our new neighbor's house.

"That where he lives?" Steve asked. I nodded.

"Yeah." He nodded as well, pondering the house for a minute. We kept walking until we reached the park I sat on one of the swings that wasn't broken and Steve pushed me. I laughed as he pushed me higher and higher. Every time I would soar up into the clouds I would look up at the stars and my heart would pound and my stomach would drop. I laughed harder when that happened. I jumped off and we continued through the park and circled back around through the neighborhood.

I said goodbye to Steve and made my way up the porch steps into the house, where my brothers all sat on the couch or in the chairs, staring into the t.v.

**SODAPOP CURTIS-**

"How was the walk?" I asked my sister when she walked in the door.

"Fine," she said and made her way to her bedroom. I shrugged and went to the phone to call Amanda. I waited while the phone rang.

"Hello?" I heard my girlfriend say on the other line.

"Hello? Amanda?" I asked.

"Yeah, what's up Tony?" she asked.

"What?" I asked; confused at why she thought I was someone named Tony. Who was Tony anyway? "No, it's Sodapop." I said awkwardly.

"Oh! Soda, I'm Sorry, I thought you were… Never mind, what's up?"

"I wanted to know if you wanted to do something tomorrow." I said. "Who's Tony anyway?" I asked.

"Oh, he's my… cousin. From Houston." She said.

"Oh, well you up for a movie tomorrow then?" I asked. She paused for a minute to consider it.

"Yeah, that sounds, oh, I just forgot, I have to… babysit tomorrow night for my dad. I sorry Soda, I can't." I frowned.

"It's alright. I understand, maybe next time." I said and said my goodbyes before I hung up and got dressed for bed. I had to work in the morning anyway.

I layed in bed alone for over an hour before Ponyboy finally came in. I didn't like to go to sleep until I knew Pony was asleep first. I hated it when he had nightmares. I crawled into bed and I put an arm around his shoulder.

"Did I wake you up?" he whispered.

"No, I was awake." I said.

"Oh, you gotta work tomorrow, huh?"

"Yeah, but Buddy's off, you guys'll find somethin' to do." I told him.

"Yeah." He said; the sarcasm in his voice. I rolled over to look at him.

"What's wrong Pony?" I asked. He looked away quickly and then I knew something was for sure wrong. "C'mon, you can tell me." I said, sitting up. My youngest brother took a deep breath and looked at me with tears in his eyes.

"I still can't get over Johnny and Dally." He said. I closed my eyes and pulled him close again.

"That why you've been in such a bad mood lately?" I asked. He nodded. I still held him close in my chest. "We'll all get over it eventually. It takes time remember when we all thought we would never get over Mom and Dad?" I asked. He nodded again.

"But Johnny and Dally are different." He said.

"Why are they any different? Neither of them would want you to be sad anymore. Not even Dally." I told him. He let a tear slide down his cheek.

"Because if it weren't for me they would still be here; I should be the one that's dead." He said. I sat up again and shook him by the shoulders.

"Don't say that. Don't ever say that. Darry and Ponygirl and me would've went crazy if you would've died in that church or got killed by the cops like Dallas. I don't know why it worked out like that, but I'm glad I still have my brother. Don't say you should be dead ever again Pony, especially in front of Darry and Buddy. You can't blame yourself for that. Johnny dying was a mistake, and Dally, that was his doing."

"Yeah, but if I wouldn't have fell asleep in the lot that night, I wouldn't have run away and we never would've got jumped and Johnny wouldn't have killed that guy."

"No Pony; that was the socs. You didn't ask them to jump you and Johnny that night, you didn't get them drunk, and you didn't do anything wrong to their girls."

"I guess. But either way, they're both still gone." He said.

"Well, yeah, but you can't blame yourself. It wasn't like that." I told him firmly. He settled down in bed again and I layed with a tighter grip over him that night. I hated Pony for thinking it was his fault. He was smart. If we really wanted to, we could trace the blame to anyone in the gang and even more. It could've been my fault, or Darry's or Ponygirl's, the socs, Two-Bit. It was an endless list. I layed in bed for a while more after Pony fell asleep. Maybe we all had some blame in the whole mess.


	2. Sick

**PONYBOY CURTIS-**

I woke up the next morning in bed alone. I sighed; Soda and Darry had work today. I sat up and groaned. My head was pounding so hard it felt like my brain was pushing up against my skull. I layed back down and closed my eyes. I tried to go back to sleep, but I couldn't; all the memories of my conversation with Soda the night before came flooding back. I rolled over my stomach and pulled the blankets over my bed to block the sunlight that poured in through the window. Slowly, I slipped back into an uneasy sleep.

I next time I woke up, it was late in the morning and my mouth watered while my stomach churned. I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself down. My heart pounded and I felt myself staring to sweat. I took a few deep breaths and felt the vomit rising in my throat. I jumped out of bed and ran for the bathroom. I forced the door open and got to my knees in front of the toilet. I heaved and my head still pulsed. I closed my eyes and heard Buddy and Ponygirl in the doorway. He knelt next to me and put a firm hand on my back. I threw up some more before I steadied myself on my feet. Buddy helped me back to bed and gave me a glass of water.

"Thanks." I whispered hoarsely; and sipped it slowly.

"What's wrong?" my sister asked form the edge of the bed where she sat, folding the corner of the blanket nervously as she stared out the window where some kids chased a dog around the street.

"I don't know." I sighed and layed back on my pillow trying to sooth my head. She got up and before I could call after her Buddy came back with aspirins and a thermometer. He put it under my tongue before I could get a word out. I sat back and closed my eyes. Buddy checked my temperature a few minutes later. He studied it keenly.

"You don't have a temperature. Just get some rest for today and we'll see how you feel this evening. If it's not better we'll take you to the doctor." He said. I nodded. Talking hurt my head.

**PONYGIRL CURTIS-**

I sat on the front porch steps, looking out at the neighborhood. Kids played kickball in the lot; teenagers walked down the street with their hands together, the girl with their heads in the crook of the boy's neck. I looked down at our new neighbors' house. The man was in the front lawn, towering over a girl that looked no older than Soda at the most. He slapped her check and she plummeted to the ground, her strawberry blonde hair fanning out in the wind as she collapsed to the grass below her feet. He screamed and cursed at her as he kicked her back to the ground when she tried to get up. A boy came running out of the house, almost as strong and robust as his father was, or at least the man who looked like his father. He was different though, the way he came to the girl's defense, he was noble and resolute unlike the man who took out his frustrations on a young girl in his front yard. Johnny's sad puppy flashed in my mind and I swallowed the tears that were burning in my eyes. The boy helped her up and the two of them took off down the street. I hid behind the porch railing as they passed the house and watched them as they held each other close as the made their way towards the end of our road.

"What are you looking at?" I jumped as Buddy surprised me when he spoke, I didn't even know he came outside.

"Nothing." I said. "How's Pony?"

"He doesn't have a fever. I think he just needs some rest. You don't have to sit around the house all day though. You can go out with some friends or something." I shrugged.

"I don't know I think I'd rather just stay home. Besides, Soda, Steve, and Darry are at work and Two-Bit was out late at a party last night."

"What about Debbie?" he asked.

"She went her dad's house in Ohio for the summer." I said.

"What about Two-Bit," Buddy asked.

"They don't have the same dad." I said. Two-Bit was about four or five when his mom got pregnant again and Debbie's father left them. Mom told me once. I always felt bad for them. Debbie saw her father some times, but Two-Bit hadn't seen his since he was thirteen.

"Oh." Buddy said. I looked back down the street again. The neighbors were gone. I picked myself up from the steps and went inside.

That night, Pony said he felt a little better. He was still pale though. Darry had him stay in bed for the rest of the night just to be safe. I went out for a walk after dinner while Soda and Buddy were doing the dishes. I walked through the park. I liked waling at night, listening to the crickets and looking up at all the glittering stars. I sat on the cold metal bench for a few minutes until I heard the sound of soft cries. I looked up and saw the girl from earlier, our new neighbor, walking slowly through the wet grass. Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest and her head was down. She looked up at me as she passed by and quickened her pace.

"Wait!" I called after her. I ran to catch up and grasped her arm. She turned quickly on her heels.

"What do you want?" she asked sharply.

"I, I want to help you." I stuttered.

"I don't want your help," She paused, looking me over from my shoes to my forehead. "Or your pity."

"I don't feel sorry for you, if that's what you think. You just seemed upset. I thought you might want someone to talk to."

"Why would I tell you about my problems? You don't know me." She said.

"Well, why not? I don't know you how can I judge you? I saw you in your yard earlier." Her face softened and a fugitive tear trickled down her cheek. Her face hardened again as if she had woken up out of her daze.

"Why do you care so much?" she asked, stepping at little closer.

"Well," I began, "I had this friend, named Johnny…" I proceeded to tell her the whole story of what happened, including Buddy. She looked at me with a look of admiration and respect, not the cold look I had gotten before.  
"A few years ago, Dad started to drink when mom got sick. Dad's been that way and movin' all over the country ever since." She told me about her family. The boy with her earlier was her brother, Julian. She looked up suddenly.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Ponygirl." I said simply. She smiled.

"I should have guessed. I'm Rose." She said and stuck her hand out. I took it in mine and shook. "Thank you." She said. "For listening."

"You're welcome. Thanks for letting me." I said. She was really pretty. She had long strawberry blonde hair, and big brown eyes. They fit perfectly with her round face and slim figure. She wore a pair of blue jeans and a t- shirt. I had never been so conscious of my dress before. Pants were against the dress code at our school. She said she had somewhere to go. I didn't pry, though I wanted to know where she was going. I wanted to offer our couch to her, but I didn't think she would take me up on the offer. She didn't seem like the kind to take help from people. She seemed stubborn like Darry and Ponyboy. I sighed and began my walk back home.

**SODAPOP CURTIS-**

I sat at the edge of my bed, talking to Pony, who layed on his side.

"How you feelin' Pony?" I asked. He sat up.

"I'm fine. Just nerves I think." He said. He looked pale and depressed.

"We should tell Darry." I said.

"I don't know. He's got enough going on." he said.

"We promised not to keep anything from them. Remember when you got depressed last time? Look what that turned into." He looked away.

"Just give it a few days. Okay? It'll be fine by then. Let's not worry them unless it gets serious." I looked away. I didn't know what to say about that. I took a deep breath and looked at my little brother. He took hold of my arm.

"C'mon Soda." He said. It made sense. I thought for a moment. I could betray my little brother or lie to my big brothers. I tried to weight my options. I could get into trouble for lying, but what if Pony didn't trust me? What if I told and the next time he had a problem he kept it to himself? Then no one would know. I raked a hand through my sun bleached blonde hair.

"Alright; I won't tell. But you gotta hold up your end of the bargain. You gotta try to be better. Johnny wouldn't want this Pony. Not even Dally would want it. And I know Mom and Dad wouldn't have wanted it." He nodded.

"You're right. I'll get happier." He said and got out of bed. I smiled and wrapped him in my arms. We were really close before Mom and Dad and that night that changed everything but after all that, we were inseparable. All five of us were.

**BUDDY CAMPBELL-**

I checked on Ponyboy later that night before going to meet Sarah for dinner with Darry and Ruby. He seemed to be doing a lot better.

"Alright Soda, you're in charge while we're gone. If Pony gets worse, call us, if he gets really bad, take him to the hospital. Other than that, Ponygirl isn't allowed out and don't burn the house down." He nodded at me obediently and Ponygirl scowled at not being allowed out. Darry came out of his room in a clean shirt and a pair of jeans with his hair combed. We got the truck keys and walked to the door.

"Be good. _All _of you." Darry said as he went out in front of me to the truck.

We picked up the girls and went to a restaurant on the edge of town, to a place where socs and greasers didn't hang out. We sat on a booth next to a window with a view of the city at night; Darry and Ruby on one side and Sarah and me on the other. We ordered and talked for at least an hour and a half.

"My father just got a promotion." Ruby said.

"That's great." Darry said. "Is he a supervisor now?" he asked. Ruby nodded.

"He's been waiting years for a promotion." She said. We talked more about her father's job, and I showed them the new cartoon panel I was planning on giving my boss the next day at work. Darry studied it closely.

"You're really detailed." He said after a few minutes. I smiled.

"Thanks."

"He's right. It's really good. You have a real talent baby; you could do so much better than a cartoonist for a newspaper. Your work should be in museums." Sarah said. I beamed.

"Making my family proud is good enough for me." I said and kissed her cheek.

**SODAPOP CURTIS-**

I sat on the porch with Amanda while Darry and Buddy were out. He didn't say anything about Amanda coming to me. I kissed her as we swung back and forth slowly on the porch swing. I could barely see her in the dim moonlight, but I could see she was smiling as we pulled apart. I held her in my arms for a few minutes before I spoke.

"So, Your cousin, Tony, is he coming to visit or something?" she was silent for a minute.

"Soda, Tony isn't my cousin. He's my ex- boyfriend. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to get jealous. Tony was always jealous. I guess I was just afraid you were like him. But now I know, you are sweet and sensitive. You are the best boyfriend I've had Soda, I didn't want to jeopardize what we have." I thought for a moment.

"Me too; my old girlfriend cheated on me and Ponyboy was the one who told me not to ruin things." I said and hugged her closer to me. I rested her head in the crook of my neck.

"That's why I love you Soda. You're so understanding and kind." I kissed her head.

"I love you too." I whispered. We talked as we swung until late that night while the twins amused themselves in the house.

I came in a few hours later; after I had walked Amanda home. I inched into my bedroom and got into bed next to Ponyboy after I took my pants off. I wrapped my arm around him and closed my eyes. It was only minutes later that I heard the truck pull into the driveway and saw Darry open our bedroom door to check on us. I looked at him.

"Did we wake you up?" Darry asked.

"No." I said.

"Oh; Is Pony doing better?" he asked.

"Yeah; He's feeling a lot better."

"Good. Well, get some sleep little buddy. Okay?"

"Okay." I said and rolled back over, taking my brother in my arms again and falling asleep; replaying the entire conversation I had had with Amanda that night over and over in my head.


	3. Brother to Brother

_**AUTHORS NOTE: Material in this chapter may not be suitable for all ages.**_

**PONYBOY CURTIS-**

I sat at the breakfast table the next day with Ponygirl, Soda and Buddy before they left for work. It was just me and Ponygirl that day. We would probably end up with Two-Bit causing some trouble at the DX. I ate my cake and sipped my milk. I was feeling a little better; but not a whole lot. I avoided Soda's glances and continued eating without talking to him. It didn't take long for them to leave. I heard the truck rumble down the street away from the house and sat on the couch with a book.

"Pony, I'm going out for a while. I'll be back later." I heard her say as she walked out the front door. I nodded quickly and went back to my reading. I sat on the couch for only a few minutes, or hours, I couldn't really remember. I was stuck in a book so long. I looked out the window and saw Pony walking up the porch steps with a girl and a boy. She opened the door and let them in. she let them in first and I saw them for the first time. I guessed that they were the new neighbors. Buddy told us not to go around them. I thought, but those thoughts were pushed to the back of my head when I saw the girl come in behind her brother. She had long blonde hair and big brown eyes. Her figure was slim, with curves over her chest and hips. She was beautiful. She smiled at me and I looked away and blushed. That had never happened to me before.

"Pony, these are our new neighbors. This is Rose and Julian." She said, pointing to each of them. I stood up and shook the boy, Julian's hand. He had dark blonde hair like his sister and blue eyes. His grip was firm too. I looked at the girl, Rose, again. She smiled and I took the hand she offered me in mine and shook it slowly. I felt my heart race and sweat forming in my palms. I took my back quickly after she released it and wiped them nervously on my pants and sat back down. Pony sat on the couch next to them.

"Rose is fifteen and Julian is seventeen, Pony." Ponygirl said.

"Oh." I said, it was the only thing I could think to say that didn't make me sound like an idiot. That was even stranger; I was always good with words. Pony stared talking and the conversation flowed after the awkwardness of being introduced was over. I found out that they had moved around a lot and that she liked music. She said she preferred the Beatles. I grimaced inside when she said that. She saw me though.

"I also like Elvis and Chuck Berry." She said.

"Me too," I said. "So, who thought of the name Rose?" I asked.

"Our mother named us both." Rose said. She's from Boston. I was named after her mother and Julian was named after her father. What about you?" she asked.

"Our dad thought of Sodapop and Ponyboy and Ponygirl." I said, beaming with pride for my father. We talked for a while Until Soda and Steve got back from work.

**SODAPOP CURTIS-**

I went to Amanda's house after work that night. I knocked on the screen door and her little sister answered and smiled.

"Is Amanda here?" I asked her with a smile. She giggled.

"No. She's not her." She said with an evil smile.

"Where is she?" I asked.

"I'm here!" I heard my girlfriend call from the other end of the house. I laughed.

"Busted." I said with a grin bigger than hers and she ran off before Amanda came to the door.

"Hey." She said through the screen.

"I wanted to know if you wanted to come over to the house tonight." I said.

"Sure. Dad just got home. He can watch my sisters." She said.

"Great." I said and walked her back to the house where Pony had some new friends over. She introduced us and Amanda and me went out on the porch.

"How have you been?" I asked.

"Good." She said. "What about you?" she asked.

"Good. Work was okay. Me and Steve didn't get a whole a lot of customers though."

"Oh. Buddy and Darry are okay with you working full time?"

"It's only for the summer. I have to go back to part-time when we go back to school." I kissed her head and we sat together until Darry pulled up from work.

"Hey, little Buddy, you got dishes tonight." He said, walking up the steps and slamming the screen door behind him. Buddy pulled in a few minutes later. I watched him walk up the front steps with Sarah holding tightly to his hand. They went on inside after Buddy said a quick hello to us.

**BUDDY CAMPBELL-**

Sarah and I went inside and upstairs to my attic bedroom after saying hello and meeting Ponygirl's new friends. We sat on my bed for a while, talking.

"How was work?" she asked me.

"Fine I guess. It was a busy day. Let's not talk about our jobs." I said and pulled her closer by her shoulders and kissed her. She kissed me back and soon, her shirt was off and I was kissing every inch of her as we stood in the vast attic that was my bedroom. She moaned as I kissed her lips again and I carried her back to my bed. I layed on top of her, still holding our kiss. I started to unbuckle my belt when Ponyboy walked in.

"Hey Buddy could you read over my essay about the French and Indian" he stopped and froze in the middle of the room, his mouth dropped open and I saw his face turn red as he stared at us, Sarah without clothes on the top half of her body. He suddenly woke up out of his daze, whispering a "Sorry." Before he dashed down the stairs.

"Oh no." I said and cursed under my breath. "We shouldn't have done that." I said, buckling my belt and running after my brother as Sarah scrambled to find her clothes. This must be how Soda felt that night before Christmas, I thought to myself as I searched the house for my youngest brother. He was so innocent. I wondered what he must be thinking of me and Sarah right then. I found him in his room, sitting on his bed, reading through his paper, trying hard to concentrate and straining.

"Pony," I started, but couldn't find the right words for what I wanted to say.

"Don't. You don't have to say anything. I know what you were doing." He said.

"Do you know why?" I asked. He looked up for a moment and then back to his paper, even though I could tell he wasn't reading it. He shrugged.

"You wanted to?" he asked, smartly.

"Well yeah," I paused, thinking carefully. "Has Darry…" I started.

"No." he said quickly. I put my arm around him.

"C'mon little brother, let's go for a ride." I said. He grimaced.

"I already know all there is to know." He said.

"From where, Soda, Steve, Two-Bit?" he looked away. "That's not knowing. That's listening to a bunch of immature teenage boys. And if you ever hear Steve say anything about your sister, you have my permission to punch him in the face for me, and then punch your sister in the arm for doing anything like that." I said with a smile. He laughed.

"Nah. I'll leave that to You, Darry, and Sodapop." He said. "I'm too small to take Steve."

"You'll start growing up here soon. Look at your sister." I said.

We got into my truck and I drove out to an old park. I parked the truck and looked ta Ponyboy.

"I'm not gonna go into all the details, you already know that."

"Yeah, Do we have to do this?" he asked.

"Yes. We have to do this. Now, you know all the details, but you should k now that you shouldn't do it just to do it. Soda and Steve might make it sound cool, but you shouldn't do it unless you really love the girl. That is something you should only do when you're in love."

"Does that mean you're in love with Sarah?" he asked, looking at me. I thought for a moment.

"Yeah, I'm in love with her." I said. I had never felt that way about anyone else before. She had become part of the family over the past few months. Ponygirl especially liked her. She was over at least four of five nights a week, eating dinner, playing football, doing all that kind of stuff with us.

"What's it like when you're in love?" he asked. I sighed.

"Well, when I'm with Sarah, I feel really happy. When I'm with her, it's like I feel when I'm with you and Darry, Sodapop, and Ponygirl sort of. I feel like I belong and I know you guys love me back."

"Oh." He said. "Have you ever? You know…" I rubbed my temples. It was hard telling my fourteen year old brother about my personal life with my girlfriend.

"Yeah Ponyboy, We have. But, we're in love. You should try to wait until you're married, but when you grow up, you have these feelings, that are hard to control sometimes. Does that make sense?" I asked.

"Yeah, does that mean you want to marry Sarah?" he asked. I thought long and hard about that question. I had thought about it for a long time but I didn't know when I would want to.

"Yeah, I do." I said. He talked for an hour more about school, work, and other stuff. He told me about Rose.

"She's really nice." He said. I looked at him and saw him blushing as he talked about her.

"Do you like her?" I asked. He reddened even darker. I couldn't help but grin. "I'll take that as I a yes." I said.

"I can't talk to her. What do I do?" he asked.

"Well, be her friend, be nice to her. If she feels the same way, then she'll come around. You just met her today?" I asked.

"Yeah." He said, nodding. I nodded along with him.

"Just give it some time. You said she has a rough home life?" I asked.

"Yeah her dad." He said.

"Just be nice to her and be sensitive to her feelings and eventually she'll like you too." I said. He looked out the window as I started the truck. We were stuck in traffic for a long time, almost an hour because of an accident on the highway. We talked some more. It was the most I had ever talked to Ponyboy at one time. He was always so quiet.

As we sat I traffic and our conversation tapered off, my thoughts drifted back to Sarah. I started to think seriously about marrying her. She had just gotten out of school, just got her first job.

The thought of being married to Sarah still weighed heavy on my mind as I layed in bed that night. I thought of what it would be like. I rolled over and stared at my window in the darkness. I thought of what it would be like to have her sleep next to me at night, wake up next to her in the morning, and start a family eventually. I drifted off with the thoughts of what our lives would be like together. It would be hard ion the beginning, but we would make it work, we always did. Still, what if she rejected me? She was always one to play it safe. If we got married too young, it might ruin our relationship. Just before I fell asleep, I made my decision, I would wait a few days, but I didn't think it would change. I made up my mind.


	4. The Ones Who Love You Most

**DARRY CURTIS-**

"You what?" I asked, looking strangely at my brother as he sat across from me at our kitchen table. It was late and I could hear rain pouring steadily down on the roof as he spoke in a hushed tone, careful not to wake Soda and the twins up.

"I'm thinking seriously about marrying Sarah. I want to know what you think." He said. I sat back in my chair and ran a hand through my hair.

"I think you need to think about it awhile longer." I said. "She just got out of school."

"Yeah, this way if we live together, we can put both our incomes together." He said.

"Where would you live?" I asked.

"Here, that's why I'm talking to you, Darry. She would be good for the family too." He said. I sighed.

"Buddy, she's very young. She's not gonna want all the responsibilities that would come with being your wife. He looked at me with a defeated look on his face like I had punched him in the stomach.

"We're both young. We would make it work." He said.

"Buddy, you need to be content with being her boyfriend. She won't want to have all the responsibilities that come with raising three teenagers." I said truthfully.

"She won't have to raise them." He said.

"You expect her to live here, be your husband and not help with Soda and the twins?" I asked.

"C'mon Darry, give me a break. The kids are almost grown." He said.

"No. they aren't." I said. "Sodapop is almost grown. The twins still have a few more years. Years that they'll need a lot of support through." I said. I didn't want to think about the twins growing up. I watched him hold his head in his hands. I hated being the voice of reason.

"You're right Darry. You're always right." He said roughly and started for the front door.

"Where are you going?" I asked. It was still pouring outside.

"I'm gonna go out and clear my head." He said and left without a jacket. I looked at the door after he left. Sometimes I felt like the older one.

**BUDDY CAMPBELL-**

I walked down the street in the rain. I thought about going in my truck for a drive, but decided against it. The only way I could really clear my head was when I took a walk outside. I didn't know what I wanted anymore. I thought I wanted to marry Sarah, now I didn't. Things weren't always so complicated when I was younger. I wasn't responsible for three teenagers either. I took off from the sidewalk at a dead run, cutting through allies, and running across streets without a glance for cars. Darry would say I was being reckless. I still ran, ran until my heart was pounding, my chest heaving, and my mind was still in a daze. I still ran on through the town being honked at by every car that honked and slammed on their breaks as I ran through the streets of Tulsa.

I ran into another ally on my way back to the house when I ran into someone. It knocked me clear to the ground. I stood up and brushed myself off, though it didn't do any good. I was dripping wet. The man I had bumped into picked me up by the collar of my shirt and forced me against the wall. I saw a glint of silver as he held me to the wall. I could feel the sharp metal against my throat. He was breathing heavily and I could smell the alcohol on his breath.

"Give me your money." He spoke in a gruff voice. I was still in shock. I forced myself to think. Think, I told myself, think, think. My wallet. My wallet was in my jacket pocket. I started patting my sides looking for my pocket. I froze and felt the blood drain from my face. My wallet was in my jacket, on the couch in the living room, at home.

"I, I don't have any." I stuttered. He held me even tighter by the shirt. I closed my eyes and waited for the blow to my face. But, it didn't come. I opened my eyes just in time to see that familiar silver flash before my eyes and felt some cold slide down my side. I cried out in pain as the mugger let me go and crumble to my knees before running off. I felt my blood in my hands. Hot and sticky compared to the rain that dripped from my hair and clothes. My hands filled with it. With my own blood. I gasped and cried at the pain. My mind reverted back to when I was a kid back in Virginia, before I knew everyone had lied to me. I thought of my Mom, with her burgundy hair and light brown eyes, smiling and holding me close. I thought of my Dad too. The way he would joke around and help me with my car or with a baseball pitch.

I forced myself to my feet. I took deep breaths and tried to keep the blood from spilling out of my sides with my hands. I had no such luck. I limped down the sidewalk towards the hospital, holding my side and trying to block out the pain. I couldn't think of anything else. The pain and Sarah. I loved her, I thought until I got to the hospital, of her. Keep going, I told myself, get to the hospital for your family. They need you. You can't go, not like this. I kept walking despite the pain and agony I felt. I limped and limped forward.

I stumbled into the emergency room doors, still holding my side. A nurse gasped and a little girl with pigtails sitting in a chair started to cry as she saw my blood. That little girl reminded me of Ponygirl. I wanted her right then. I wanted everyone right then. They put me in a wheelchair and wheeled me off down a long white waxed hallway. I stared up at the lights as they passed by quickly thanks to the nurse that pushed me. I began to see black spots and the lights were sliding in and out of focus. I groaned and felt myself throw up on my shirt before blacking out.

**PONYBOY CURTIS-**

I woke up late that night to the shrill sound of the phone ringing. My eyes popped open and I sat still in Soda's arms, afraid to move. I heard Darry answer the phone. I listened intently as I heard Darry speak softly and felt my ears prick up when I heard him say, "I'll be there as soon as I can." I still layed in bed with Soda's arm around my neck. I carefully lifted his arm off me and crept to the door where I watched Darry through the keyhole. He looked frantic, pacing and nervously wiping his hands on his jeans. I stood back when he disappeared from my view and felt his heavy footsteps pound towards the door. I backed away from the door as he came in, the light from the lamp in the living room pouring in. I squinted at the light and covered my face with my arm as he strode him. His eyes were blank and glassed over form lack of sleep and stress.

"Get your shoes and get in the truck." He said stiffly and closed the door behind him, leaving me in the dark. I ran to our bed and shook Sodapop awake.

"Soda, Soda! Wake up!" I said. He stirred and rolled over on his stomach.

"Pony? What's wrong? You have another nightmare?" he asked.

"No. Darry said to put on our shoes and got out to the truck. Something's wrong. I know it. Something happened." I said, tears stinging my eyes as I blinked them back and swallowed the hard lump that was forming in my throat. Soda wrapped his arms around me and went searching for his shoes.

We all piled in the truck me and Ponygirl in the back and Darry and Sodapop in the front. I stared blankly out the window at the streetlights that we passed.

"Darry," I spoke softly, "Where are we going?" I asked. That question churned in all three of our stomachs. We all knew it was an emergency for Darry to drag us out of bed in the middle of the night and not tell us where we were going. He paused, focusing on the street for a second before he spoke up in a hushed voice. I had to lean forward to hear him.

"Buddy's in the hospital. He got jumped. The lady didn't tell me much else." He said quietly. I sat back. What happened to my brother? I thought frantically. What happened? I heard of people being shot, killed when they were out on the streets alone. Me and Ponyboy knew enough about that. I sat back and watched the street lights again, this time thinking about how this could have happened to my brother. Buddy was strong; if he got jumped and ended up in the hospital then no one was safe on the streets of Tulsa anymore. I closed my eyes and remembered the first time I ever met Buddy. I thought he was one of the handsomest men I had ever seen. He was tall, strong and tan. He was as handsome as Soda and Darry. If that was possible. I thought of Mom and Dad. Soda and Darry took after them so much. I looked a little like Dad, but Ponyboy didn't look like either of them. I looked at my reflection as we passed the streetlights. I looked tired. I had dark circles under my eyes and my muscles were still asleep. I sighed and leaned my head on the cool glass window until we got to the hospital.

Darry let Soda, Ponyboy and me out of the truck while he went to park. We waited for him in a waiting room. A hospital is a real lonely place at night. Janitors mopped the floors, and doctors walked silently through the halls, the only sounds they made were from their shoes as they sped down the shiny hall with a grim frown plastered on their faces. We asked the woman at the front desk where Buddy was. She looked up at us, staring from Soda, to Ponyboy, to me.

"How do you know the patient?" she asked.

"He's our brother." Soda piped up. She nodded.

"No one under twelve is allowed back there. How old are they?" she asked, looked at us with an annoyed frown.

"Fourteen." Soda said in an equally annoyed tone. "Can we see our brother now?" he asked, his fist clenched at his sides. She rolled her eyes.

"Room nine- seventy." She said and looked back down at a magazine she was flipping through when we came in.

We followed the hallway, passing all the rooms, counting for room nine-seventy. I kept count in my head. Nine- sixty six, nine-sixty eight, nine-seventy. I took a deep breath and we went in at the same time. My breath caught when I saw my oldest brother for the first time in that hospital bed. His face was pale. Real pale, like a sheet of paper. His hair was damp and he was shivering under the white blankets he was covered with. I moved closer and pulled them up to his chin. He was sleeping. I think. I hoped he was just sleeping. I looked at Sodapop and Ponyboy. Both of them looked sick and Ponyboy leaned up against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. Sodapop was holding back tears and trying to swallow the lump in his throat in the middle of the room. It always did take a while for reality to hit Sodapop, but when it did, it hit him hard.

Darry came in then. He saw Sodapop, and opened his mouth to speak. He closed it immediately when he saw our brother. He stopped in the middle of the room next to Sodapop and blinked, staring hard at Buddy who still layed motionless in the bed. The only proof we had that he was still alive was his slow, rythnmatic breathing as he slept on.

We all sat in the hard, uncomfortable chairs and waited, hardly saying a word to each other. It was so late and we were all tired. After an hour, I felt exasperated from the agonizing wait for our brother to wake up. I leaned in my chair and layed my head on Darry's shoulder. I wonder what he's dreaming, if he's dreaming, I thought as my eyes sealed and I slipped into a restless sleep.

**DARRY CURTIS-**

I struggled to stay awake for the twins and Soda. I had to stay awake in case something happened. I rubbed my eyes, careful not to wake Ponygirl and got up to get coffee from the hospital cafeteria. I ordered my coffee black and made my way back to Buddy's hospital room. The hospital was a mournful place at night when no one was there. I walked down the hallway and didn't pass anyone except for a nurse with an armful of sheets. She smiled and I tried to give her a weak smile back. I had work in a few hours. I didn't know how I would make through the day. I ran a hand through my hair and sat back down next to Ponygirl where she, half asleep, rested her head on my shoulder again. I looked at Sodapop and Ponyboy across the room. They were both on top of each other sleeping in a pretzel. I grimaced. If I slept like that my back would be broken for a week. I sat back and sipped my coffee, desperately trying to stay awake.

As my eyes were closing I heard the familiar sound of heels clicking down the long hallway, getting closer and faster. I sat up and saw Sarah come in. I had called her after I got Buddy's room number. Her hair was in a messy knot on the back of her head, her dress wrinkled, and her shoes didn't match. She always took so much pride in her appearance. She had dark circles under her eyes and her shoulders heaved as she approached his bed. I got up from my chair.

"He's been asleep for a few hours. The doctors gave him a transfusion and some medicine for the pain, said he'd be out for a while." I said. She nodded, her lips quivering and a few stray tears running down her cheeks.

"I came as soon as I could." She said. "Who would do this?" she asked.

"I don't know. He passed out before he could tell the doctors what happened. We're pretty sure he was jumped." I said, with bitterness in my voice.

"Don't be like that Darry." She said. "Buddy doesn't need any more stress." She said anxiously. I nodded.

"You're right." I sighed and sat back down with my coffee. I watched her approach the bed in the corner of the room and take Buddy's hand in hers. She cried and let her tears flow freely now. I smiled to myself. Her and Buddy did belong together, and if they wanted to be married, that was fine with me. She stayed at his bedside all night.

A few hours later, we saw the first of the sun's rays begin to stretch out over the sky, still black and speckled with stars. One by one, Ponygirl, Sodapop, and Ponyboy began to stir and wake up. Each of them stretching and looking around the room curiously. I watched their faces drop when reality rushed over them like a wave and they remembered that we were here because Buddy was stabbed late last night in an ally.

**SODAPOP CURTIS-**

I woke up early the next morning in the uncomfortable chair I fell asleep on the night before. My back was sore and my neck was stiff. I rubbed my eyes and massaged my temples to ease the headache I was getting. I saw Sarah, sitting on a chair next to Buddy's bed. She looked exhausted. Her hair was a mess and her dress was wrinkled. I felt bad for her for having to be here all night worrying with us.

"Mornin'." Darry said.

"Mornin'." I answered. "How is he?" I asked.

"Same." Darry said, shrugging. Sarah sat unmoving, running her fingers up and down Buddy's hands, and brushing his hair out of his face. Her eyes had dried tears under them.

Soon, the twins woke up and asked the same questions.

"How is he?"

"Did he wake up?"

"Did the doctor come back?"

"No." Darry said sadly. I looked down at my feet and wished we were home in bed right now. I would still be sleeping, along with everyone else in our house. My arm would be around Ponyboy and Darry would be making pancakes while Buddy flipped through the newspaper to see how his cartoon printed. Soon, he and Darry would come in and shake us awake until they were forced to tickle us out of bed. Then Ponyboy and me would race and wrestle for the bathroom. After breakfast we would go outside and play football while Darry went to work.

But instead we were waiting at the hospital for Buddy to wake up from his never ending sleep. I watched from across the room as Buddy stirred and opened his eyes. They seemed to have sunk into his head over night and his face had no color. Sarah gasped as he looked up at her.

"You're awake!" she exclaimed. We all gathered around his bed as he asked us all his questions.

"What time is it?" he asked. Darry checked his watch.

"About Six o'clock in the morning. You've been sleeping all night. You got stabbed." Darry said. Buddy's face dropped,

"Oh yeah." he said.

"Do you remember anything about it?" I asked and got a warning look from Darry. I shut my mouth after that.

"No, not a whole lot. It was dark. I was coming home and I ran into someone. Then I was walking to the hospital before I bled to death." He said. I heard Sarah make a noise in her throat at that statement and Buddy took her hand in his that time.

"I'm okay now." He said. "The doctors are taking good care of me, and my favorite nurse." He said and Sarah blushed a bright red like a fire engine.

Soon, the doctor was back and said Buddy could go home later that day, but he would have to be laid up for a while. Darry nodded and Sarah went to the hallway to call her parents.

"Hey, guys, can you give us a second?" Darry asked and we all hesitantly slouched out to the hallway.

**DARRY CURTIS-**

After Soda and the twins cleared out I looked back at Buddy, who tugged at a loose string on the blanket that covered him.

"Look, about you're getting' married idea," I started.

"Darry, I want to marry her no matter what. Last night, when that guy had the knife against my throat, I saw my life flash before my eyes. I want to be with Sarah forever. I know it's a good choice. Whether you think it is or not. I still want to talk to the kids about it, but we'll make it work."

"No. I know that this is right for you. If you want to be with Sarah, then be with her. A friend will come see you in the hospital, but someone that really loves you will come out on the middle of the night and not leave your bedside until they know you're okay." I said. Buddy smiled.

"Thanks Darry." He said. I smiled back.

"You're Welcome."


	5. Home Again

**PONYGIRL CURTIS-**

The next morning, Buddy was allowed to come home with Darry, Soda, Ponyboy and me. Sarah was going to stay at the house for a few days to help with him, being a nurse and all. The ride home was quiet, me and Ponyboy in the truck with Darry and Soda with Sarah and Buddy. We pulled onto the curb and Darry went to help Buddy get out of Sarah's car. We helped him inside and layed him up in his room in the attic. Sarah gave him pillows to help him sit up and gave him his sketch pad.

"I'm glad you're home." She said and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Me too." He said. "I really appreciate you stayin' here."

"It's no problem. I love you." She said. I watched Buddy as he smiled and kissed her back. I wondered if that was how Mom and Dad were when they were young.

The four of us sat at the dinner table that night. Buddy was already asleep upstairs and Sarah had gone home. It felt like it did before Buddy came; when it was just the four of us. Darry was quiet. We all were. We ate and went to bed all at the same time.

I layed in bed that night, and stared at the stars that speckled the sky above me. Soon, I eyes grew heavy and I began to fall into a light sleep. I jumped at a soft rapping on my bedroom window. I sat up and tried to remember if I had really fallen asleep or not. I opened my window and felt the warm breeze press my shirt to my chest. I squinted and gazed at Rose who stood at my window with her eye turning purple and her nose gushing blood on her shirt. I could barely see the tears streaking her face. I quickly rubbed my eyes and asked,

"What's wrong?" her breathing was rapid and her shoulders heaved. "Where's Julian?" I asked, craning my neck to look for him. They were always together.

"Dad, Dad, he hit him. He passed out." She said, the tears rolling freely down her cheeks.

"What? Is he okay?" I asked.

"I don't know." She cried helplessly. I took a deep breath.

"Come around to the front door." I said. I ran through the house and met her at the door. I helped her in and sat her on the couch, where I turned on a lamp and examined her nose and eye. I went to the kitchen and got a cold washcloth for her nose and an ice pack that Darry used for his back sometimes for her eye.

"Here, use these." I said, handing her the washcloth and icepack. I helped her get the blood off of her nose and gave her some pajamas from my room. After she changed I told her she could sleep in my bed.

I crept into Soda and Ponyboy's room and shook Soda until he groaned and opened his eyes.

"Soda!" I whispered.

"What?" he asked sleepily, pulling the blankets up to his chin.

"Soda, I need your help. Please get up. Julian is passed out at his house and his dad's drunk. Please Soda."

He sat up and looked at me. "He's passed out. I can't carry him by myself, and we can't leave him there." I said frantically.

"Okay, okay, calm down. I'll help you. Where's Rose, is she okay?"

"Yeah, I helped clean her up and she's in my room." I said. He groaned and pushed himself up from his bed, careful not to wake Pony. He had more rough nights than ever now.

"Alright, I'll get him, you just keep watch to make sure we don't get caught." He said; pulling a shirt over his head and smoothing his sun bleached blonde hair with his hands.

We walked out our front door into the muggy night air. I yawned and sprinted with soda down the street to the house. We went around the back and peeked into one of the open windows. I stayed close to Soda and almost shook with fear. Memories of Johnny and Stories I had heard Steve tell Soda came flooding back. I silently prayed that this would be different. The room we looked into was dark and I could barely see the silhouettes of Rose and Julian's' parents sleepy heavily on their bed in the corner. The floor between the window and the bed was litter with whiskey bottles, beer cans, and dirty clothes.

"Come on." Soda said, pulling me by the arm. We went down the side of the house to the next window. This one was close and Soda cupped his hands against the glass to see inside. I followed suit and saw the limp body of Rose's older brother laying in the middle of the floor, arms and legs spread in a fan around him. His long dark blonde hair fell in wisps on his forehead. I was relieved to see his troubled and slow breaths moving his stomach up and down.

I watched carefully, my heart pounding and my blood pumping fiercely as Soda slid the window open just enough to slid through. Once he was in, he opened it all the way and continued to the middle of the room where Julian layed unmoving.

"Help me get him through the window." Soda whispered and picked him up by the armpits and dragged him to the window. He gasped and wheezed.

"Be quiet!" I whispered. "If you wake them up, there's no tellin' what that guy'll do if he sees you in his house!" he turned to me.

"Relax, after all those bottles I seen on their floor, they won't be up for a week." He said. He pulled Julian by the armpits again to the window and began to jimmy him through the window.

"Grab his feet." Soda said. I nodded. I took hold of his feet and Soda pushed him out of the window. I struggled to hold Julian up while Soda climbed out of the window himself and delicately slid the window back into place. He took Julian's feet and helped me carry him back to our house where we layed him up on the couch. I went to get some washcloths and bandages.

I wiped the blood from his nose and held some ice on his eye that was purple and quickly turning blackish-blue. He looked so helpless on our couch. I remembered the first day I had seen him. He stood between his father and his sister and looked so strong and smart. Now he just layed on my couch unconscious. I wondered if you could dream after you passed out. I sighed and continued to sponge off his face with a cool washcloth. I stood up from the floor in front of the couch where I sat on my knees and sat in Darry's chair. I couldn't bring myself to go back to bed. Not while Julian layed so vulnerable on my couch. I curled up with a blanket in the chair with one of Mom's knitted blankets and watched him sleep.

Eventually, I felt sleepier and sleepier watching him sleep and turned to watching the street outside as cars would squeal by and teenagers would walk past with their friends, each holding at least two beers a piece. I vaguely remembered the first time I ever had alcohol. It was with Dally and Two-Bit when I was thirteen, right after Mom and Dad. Ponyboy was there too. We both got drunk. I threw up and had the worst headache of my life, I don't think I've ever seen Darry madder than when he found out we got drunk. He grounded us for two weeks and it was the first time I could ever remember anyone being mad at Two-Bit. I smiled at the memory. I remembered how Dally stood beside me as I heaved over the porch and spit out the contents of my stomach.

"Easy kid." He said and held me by the shoulders to keep me from falling over the railing. It was the closest thing to sensitivity I had ever seen in Dallas Winston.

I was taken out of my memory when I heard Julian stir on the couch. I blinked quickly and swallowed my memories of Dallas. He opened his eyes and looked around the room frantically as I stood on my knees again.

"Are you okay?" I asked him. He looked at me, pain in his eyes and as quickly as I came, it was gone. He swallowed hard.

"I'm fine just a headache." He said tenaciously. I looked at him closely. It was like I was seeing him for the first time. His cold blue eyes shown under the dim light and I saw that the sun had bleached his hair almost white. His lips pursed as I held the ice on his forehead. His light blonde hair fell on his forehead in soft wisps.

"Rose said you took a hard hit." I said. He shrugged.

"Nothin' I couldn't handle." I smiled.

"You must be pretty brave." I said. He smiled and shrugged, looking away. I laughed. He turned to look at me again.

"Thanks, for, you know…"

"Yeah." I interrupted. "It's fine. I couldn't leave you all by yourself in that house." He smiled.

"Your pretty brave too kid." He said coolly.

"I'm not a kid!" I said with fake annoyance.

"How old are you again?" he asked, smiling a devilish smile.

"Fourteen. Fifteen in September." I challenged.

"Seventeen." He said. "Eighteen next May." He said triumphantly. I rolled my eyes. He sat up on the couch.

"How'd you get me outta the house anyway?" he asked.

"Soda helped get you outta the window." I said. "We carried you back."

"Where's Rose?" he said, the smile quickly disappearing from his face.

"She's sleeping in my room." I said quickly.

"Oh." He said softly.

"You can see her if you want." I said, jerking a thumb towards the hallway. He nodded and lifted him himself from the couch.

We gilded softly down the hallway to my bedroom and poked pout heads in to see Rose sleeping softly under the blankets in my bed. When Julian was satisfied he went back to the living room and sat back on the couch. I sat next to him.

"Why was your dad mad anyway?" I asked, trying to make it sound like normal conversation. He thought for a moment.

"He likes his beer is all I can say. That's why I'm saving my money and lookin' for a job. I'm gonna get an apartment so Rose doesn't have to live with them. I almost have enough to get started, but we always leave before I can find a place." He said, running his finger down a thin scar on his hand. I put my hand in his.

"You'll find a place." I said. He nodded.

"You make it sound so easy." He muttered. He turned his head form his hand and stared into my eyes. It was like he was staring right through me. I could feel his eyes everywhere. It made my entire body quiver and get goose bumps. He broke out of his daze and looked away. We talked late into the night until we both fell asleep.

**PONYBOY CURTIS-**

I woke up late that night after another nightmare. I layed awake under Soda's arm for a while until I decided I wouldn't get back to sleep and got up. I threw the blankets off me and went to the living room where I could read a book until a got tired. I padded down the hall and stopped in my tracks when I saw Ponygirl asleep with Julian on the couch. I got closer and could see her resting her head on his shoulder as they slept. I thought of waking her and decided against it. I went to the kitchen and got a glass of water. As I drank I remembered something. I walked as fast as I could to Ponygirl's room and opened the door as softly as I could. As I peeked in I saw what I had expected. Rose was laying in her bed. I stood in the doorway for a minute then turned to leave. She sat up quickly at the sound of the squeaking hinges on the door.

"Don't go." She said. I stopped and felt my face and ears get hot.

"Did I wake you?" I asked sheepishly.

"No." she said. "Please, don't go. I don't want to be alone."

"Oh. Okay." I said nervously. I felt my palms sweat and my heart pound. What would I say? I asked my elf. I wasn't Soda, or Darry, or Buddy, or Steve. Heck, I wasn't even Two-Bit. I couldn't talk to girls like they could. I sat anxiously on the bed beside her.

"So, uh, when did you get here?" I asked.

"My dad got drunk." She said. "I came because he knocked Julian out. What about you? Why are you up so late?" she asked.

"Me? I just, you know, couldn't sleep." I said. I didn't know how good it would make me look to say I had a nightmare, and I wasn't taking any chances.

"Me either." She said and smiled weakly.

Minutes went by with no conversation and I sifted nervously. I wiped my hands in my pants and swallowed. I guess Rose could tell I was nervous because she tried to change the conversation.

"You like to read don't you?" she asked.

"Yeah." I said. "Do you?" she nodded.

"I like reading when I do it for fun. I hate it when teachers make us read books for school."

"Yeah me too. I feel like I never get them."

"Yeah. I like reading when you don't have a teacher breathing down your neck wanting you to analyze the whole thing." She said. I smiled; the nervousness evaporating and I could feel my body loosen up from its stiff from. We talked for a while about school, and movies and stuff like that. We had a lot in common and she seemed to like me enough. I remembered what Buddy said about being her friend before her boyfriend and worked that night to make a good impression. When I slipped back in bed early the next morning after Rose fell back asleep, I thought I did a pretty good job.

**PONYGIRL CURTIS-**

In the days after the incident with Rose and Julian's father, Buddy made a full recovery, except for the long, pink scar down his side. It seemed to bother us and Sarah more than him though. He started going back to work and things seemed to go back to normal. One day in particular when he got home from work he seemed happier than normal. He appeared in my doorway with a grin on his face.

"What's going on?" I asked, not holding back the contagious grin that grew on my face when I saw my oldest brother.

"I got somethin' to tell you and your brothers." He said. "Come on in the kitchen and I'll tell ya'll about it." he said. I pushed myself of my bed and went to the kitchen, passing Pony and Soda's room where I heard Buddy giving them the same speech.

Finally, after all of us had gathered at the kitchen table, he told us his big news.

"I decided to ask Sarah to marry me." He said. And I looked to see smiles spread on my brothers' faces along with mine. "But," he started again. "I wanted to ask you guys first." He said. I felt my smile disappear when I thought of something.

"Where will you live?" I asked. Buddy looked up at me from Pony and Soda.

"I was thinking we would live here if it was okay with you." He said. "Is it?" he asked. I smiled even wider than before.

"Yes." I said happily. He gave us all a hug, and continued.

"You guys are really okay with it?" he asked.

"Yeah." we all said in unison.

"Great." Buddy said. "Now I just gotta ask her." He said.

"Do you already have the ring?" I asked. He reached in his pocket and held a black velvet box in his hand and handed it to me. I opened it and it revealed a silver ring with a small diamond in the middle. I gave it back to him.

"How are you going to ask her?" Soda asked.

"Well, I thought I would take her for a picnic or something. You know. Take her somewhere where we can be alone." He said. We nodded. "Great. I'm glad you guys are okay with it all." He said again.

"When are you going to ask her?" I asked. Buddy shrugged.

"Soon, I'm not sure when though. Just make sure you guys don't spill the beans, okay? Sodapop." He said.

"Hey?" soda shrieked. "When have I ever told one of your guys' secrets?" he asked, pretending to be hurt.

"Do we really have to answer that?" I asked him. He crossed his arms over his chest and shut his mouth. Buddy went on to tell us all the other details he had planned while we all listened. We all, including Sodapop, swore to keep it a secret form everyone. Especially Two-Bit. It was the best news we had gotten in a while and I felt like I could burst with excitement. I just hoped nothing would come up to mess it up.

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: i just wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has left me all of the wonderful reviews. I really appreciate them_


	6. What Does It Mean?

**SODAPOP CURTIS-**

I took Amanda to the Dingo that Friday when I got off work at the DX. We sat with Two-Bit and Kathy in a booth towards the back. I used to double date with Steve, but after we all found out about him and Ponygirl, I didn't really think I could stomach it, if you know what I mean. So, me and Steve had an agreement, we would still be buddies, but we wouldn't take our girlfriends with us. We ordered cokes and listened to Two-Bit ramble on about something. I was itching to tell somebody about Buddy's big news, but if you know Two-Bit, he can't keep a secret, so I had to be content with only telling Amanda and Steve. I figured Buddy wouldn't mind. I mean, I could trust my best buddy and my girlfriend.

I walked her home after Two-Bit and Kathy went their separate ways at the Dingo. He was gonna take her home and then get boozed up somewhere. I told her what I knew about Buddy and Sarah. Girls ate stuff like that up all the time.

"Wouldn't you like to do that someday Soda?" she asked. I thought for a minute. I hadn't given marriage a thought since Sandy left. I shrugged.

"I don't know; Maybe." I said.

"I would." She said. "You look so handsome in a tuxedo." She whispered in my ear. I grinned as I felt her breathe on my neck.

"Yeah; you would look pretty in a white dress." I said.

"No way; white is for babies. My wedding dress is gonna be red. And I'll have white roses." She said.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." I said cautiously.

"Why not?" she asked. "We're teenagers. We're supposed to talk about all that stuff so grown-ups can make fun of us." She laughed. I had to laugh too.

"Yeah. We would buy a big house with red shutters and a porch swing." I said.

"With a pool." She added.

"And lots of bedrooms and the biggest one for Sodapop junior." I said.

"Sodapop junior?" she asked.

"Why not? We can't name our son Amanda junior."

"Who said it would be a son. I want a little girl." She said. I picked her up and swung her around.

"You can have as many little girls as you want." I said, pressing my lips against hers. She smiled and climbed the porch steps to her house. She stopped in the middle of the screen door.

"I love you Sodapop." She said, looking at me anxiously.

"I love you too." I said. It had taken me awhile to say it. It had taken me awhile to mean it.

**DARRY CURTIS-**

I stood at the sink helping Buddy wash the dinner dishes that night while Soda and the twins were out with their friends.

"I was plannin' on takin' Sarah out for a picnic to ask her." He said finally. I nodded.

"She'll like that." I said. He hadn't said much about it since he told Soda and the twins, but I know it layed heavy on his mind.

"You know, you don't have to do it now. You could wait." I said.

"No. I want to do it now. It feels right. That night I, you know, all I could think about was her. I knew I had to spend the rest of my life with her." He said strongly. So strongly I had to look at his face. It was serious, his eyes locked with mine.

"I know." I said, uneffected by his seriousness. "I just didn't want you to feel pressured." I said simply and dried the last plate before putting it in the cabinet.

I sat in the chair in the living room later that evening and read the newspaper. I was half way through an article about the new space exhibit at the science museum when the twins came in the front door.

"Hey guys." I said as they came in and sat in front of the t.v. "How were the movies?" I asked. Ponyboy shrugged.

"It was okay." He said. I nodded. "You know when Sodapop'll be home?" they both shook their heads. I went back to my paper after that.

Sodapop came in an hour later and slammed the door behind him.

"Soda, don't slam the door." I said in an exasperated voice. He looked behind his shoulder.

"Oh, sorry Darry. How long have they been asleep?" he asked. I shrugged.

"About an hour. You mind getting' Ponyboy to your room?" I asked, picking up Ponygirl.

**PONYBOY CURTIS-**

I layed still as Sodapop carried me to our room and covered me with the blankets. I remembered doing that with dad a lot when I was little and we were out late. I would pretend to be asleep in the car and Dad would carry me inside. I felt Soda's arm around my shoulders and fell asleep before I could ask how his date went.

The next afternoon me and Ponygirl walked up the street toward the DX to see Soda and decided to stop and see Rose and Julian. Julian had a new black eye and Rose hardly said anything. Their dad was drunk again the night before and my mind went back to Johnny again, along with the feeling that his death was my fault. I felt sick with guilt and grief. My head spun and I felt my stomach churn with all of my stress. I tossed and turned on my bed as I tried to take a nap to calm down. I went in and out of nightmares all afternoon and eventually decided to get up when I sat up and saw the sun beginning to set. Sodapop was home and sat on the couch with Ponygirl. He smiled at me.

"Sleepy head's up!" he yelled, grinning. I rolled my eyes at him. "Hey Pony, somebody's out on the porch for ya'." He said.

"What? Who?" I asked. He shrugged and grinned even wider and I knew I wasn't going to get an answer from him. I opened the screen door and saw Rose sitting on the front steps. She looked back at me when she heard the hinges on the door squeak.

"Hey." I said nervously.

"Hey." She said. "You, you looked sick earlier. I just wanted to make sure you were okay." She said. I nodded.

"I'm fine. Thanks." I said and sat next to her. I felt better. Being around her made me forget about Johnny and Dallas. I sighed.

"How, how are you?" I asked anxiously.

"I'm fine. Julian got most of it." she said. I looked down.

"Sorry." I said. She looked at me.

"Don't be sorry. It's not your fault." She reassured me. I could tell she was a lot more upset about it than she let on.

Just then, Darry pulled in the driveway in the truck and smiled at us. He went inside and I could hear him say something to Soda. I talked to Rose awhile more until Darry came back.

"Pony, dinner'll be ready in about five minutes." He said and I was upset that Rose had to go. It was dark by then and I could barely see her face in front of me.

"I should go." She said and I heard her get up from her place on the steps.

"I wish you didn't have to." I said.

"Do, do you want to do something with me tomorrow. Julian's working and no one else is gonna be at my house." She said. I felt my heart jump with excitement.

"Yeah, sure." I said and I felt her lips brush against mine. I could barely see her in the dark and opened my mouth to say something, but she ran away before I could. I sat on the porch dumbfounded for a few minutes before going back in for dinner. Sodapop wore the same grin as before.

"So Pony, how's, how's your girlfriend?" he asked between giggles.

"She's not my girlfriend." I said, feeling my face get hot.

"Sodapop cut it out." Darry said, raising his voice.

"Ah, I was just givin' my baby brother a hard time Darry, that's all." He said, ruffling my hair. I rolled my eyes again and went back to eating.

That night in bed, I asked Soda what it meant. The kiss I mean. He sighed.

"Well, it means she likes you." He said.

"Has a girl ever kissed you, first?" I asked. He thought for a moment.

"No, but I was never as shy as you either." He said.

"Oh. She wants me to do something with her tomorrow. What should I do?" I asked.

"You should take her out somewhere, you know, like somewhere across town, not to the Dingo or anywhere like that, somewhere nice and tell her you feel the same way." He said. I nodded. "Now, go to sleep, I gotta work in the morning." He said and wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

**BUDDY CAMPBELL-**

I woke up late that night to the phone ringing downstairs. I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. I had work the next morning. I wasn't asleep five minutes before I heard someone pound up the stairs and shake me roughly and woke me up.

"Buddy, Buddy wake up." It was Darry. I groaned and tried to go back to sleep. "Buddy, wake up." He tried again. "It's your mom." He said and I could hear the worry in his voice.


End file.
